Go North East supporting passengers in Durham and Tees Valley affected by Arriva strike

Go North East will be deploying extra buses on routes including the popular Castles Express X21

The region's largest bus operator Go North East will be deploying extra buses during the week-long strike planned by drivers at the Arriva bus company from 6th - 12th January which will affect Arriva’s services operating in Durham and Teesside.

Go North East is keen to reassure customers that all its services, operating throughout Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and the Tees Valley will be running as normal. Extra vehicles will be deployed to offer more capacity on our popular Castles Express X21 service between Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor, Durham/Framwellgate Moor (for New College and University Hospital of North Durham) and Newcastle. Larger vehicles will also be running on the Wear Xpress services which operate in the Peterlee area with connections to Hartlepool and Sunderland.

The company will also have standby resources available to support any overcrowding that may occur, so that all customers can travel without disruption on Go North East services.

Martijn Gilbert, managing director of Go North East, said: "It's really important that our existing customers know that not only will our services be operating as normal, but we will also be deploying extra resources to help cope with increased demand on routes that might be busier than usual due to the cancellation or reduction of services during this time, by other operators.

"Despite the extra cost to us of running these additional buses, our standard fares will apply and in fact we are currently running a January sale for all users of our bus services, new and existing, which offers up to 16% off weekly tickets on our smartphone app. The app also provides journey planning and bus tracking tools, which are particularly useful for users who might be using our services for the first time. Just search for 'Go North East' in the app store or on google play".

More information on Go North East's network of bus services across the region can be found online at www.gonortheast.co.uk